Do you have a high refresh rate monitor? Are you using Linux? Not quite sure how to change the refresh rate? We can help! Follow this guide as we look at how to change refresh rates in popular Linux desktop environments!
Gnome shell
If you are using Gnome Shell or a desktop that uses a modified version of Gnome Shell (Ubuntu), you can change the refresh rate on your computer monitor through the Display settings.
To access display settings, press the Win key on your keyboard. Then enter “Display” in the search box. Then browse the search results and select the Display option to load display preferences for Gnome.
Once in the Gnome Shell Display Settings, find the Refresh Rate section in Settings, find the drop-down menu and click on it. From here, you can set the correct monitor refresh rate on Linux.
KDE Plasma 5
If you are using KDE Plasma 5 and need to set up a high-end monitor, please do as follows. First press the Win key on your keyboard to open the KDE Plasma 5 application menu.
In the application menu, enter “Display Configuration”. Once you do this, “Display Configuration” will appear in the search results. Select it with your mouse to access the update settings for Plasma.
Find the Refresh Rate menu at the bottom of the page. Once you find it, select the drop-down menu and change the refresh rate to the one supported by your monitor.
XFCE
Those who use XFCE, will be happy to know that the desktop support changing refresh rates. Here’s how to do it. First press Alt + F2 to open the Quick Launch app.
When the Quick Launch app is open and ready to use, enter the following command in the text box.
xfce4-settings-manager
Press the Enter key to run the program. When the app is open and ready to use, scroll down to the Hardware section of the preferences window. Then press the Display button to open the XFCE Display Settings.
In XFCE display settings, find the dropdown menu and click it. Then change the refresh rate to the correct one for your monitor.
Buddy
Are you using the Mate desktop environment? Here’s how. First, open the Quick Launch by pressing Alt + F2 on your keyboard. Then enter the command below to open the Mate Control Center.
control center assistant
Once inside the Mate Control Center, find the Hardware section. From here, find the Displays icon and click on it. Selecting this option will open the Displays preference pane for the Mate desktop.
In the Displays area of Mate, look for the Refresh Rate drop-down menu. Then fix the refresh rate. Finally, click “Apply System Wide” to confirm the changes.
LxQT
Unfortunately, the LXQt desktop environment does n’t have a great tool for customizing the display. Luckily, you can install the Lxrandr app. This program is a graphical tool that allows you to manage your desktop display settings.
To configure the Lxrandr application on LXQt, open a terminal window. You will be able to open a terminal on your desktop by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard. Or by searching for “Terminal” in the application menu and launching it that way.
With a terminal window open, follow the Lxrandr installation instructions that match the Linux operating system you are using.
Ubuntu
sudo apt install lxrandr
Debian
sudo apt-get install lxrandr
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S lxrandr
Fedora
sudo dnf install lxrandr
Opensuse
sudo zypper install lxrandr
Launch the lxrandr application on your desktop. Once Lxrandr is open and ready to use, find the dropdown menu next to “refresh rate” and change it. After changing the settings, click the Apply button to apply the refresh rate settings.
Budgie
To change the refresh rate in the Budgie desktop environment, do the following. First, open the Budgie app menu by clicking on it. Then select the search box and enter “Settings”.
Review the search results and click on the “Settings” result. Then scroll down to Displays. In the Displays area, find the refresh rate area and change it. It should automatically update to the new speed.
Enabling Gsync
If you have a high-end monitor that only supports G-sync, you’ll need to enable this feature to get the most out of your display. To enable G-sync, you first need to install Nvidia graphics drivers.
After setting up Nvidia graphics drivers on your Linux PC, open the Nvidia Settings app. In the Nvidia Settings app, find the OpenGL Settings option and click it.
